France Orders Third Reaper UAV System

DGA: Order of A Third System of Reaper Drones

The Directorate-General of Armaments (DGA) on December 7, 2015 ordered a third Reaper medium altitude, long endurance (MALE) drone system.

The first system was delivered in December 2013, and is being intensively used in the Sahel-Saharan strip as part of ongoing operations. Delivery of the second system is scheduled for 2016, and the third will follow in 2019. (So the order for the fourth system is no doubt imminent—Ed.)

The 2014-2019 military program law provides that in 2019 the Air Force is to have 4 complete systems, each comprising three unmanned aircraft.

The drone MALE (Medium Altitude Long Endurance) is an essential tool in modern conflicts, offering a greater capacity in terms of knowledge and anticipation.

They are able to provide intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and target designation by operating, thanks to their long endurance, over large areas, great distances and for long periods of time.

The Reaper drones are manufactured by the American company General Atomics. Their acquisition is carried out according to the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) procedure with the support of the US Air Force.